Sounds like a dumb question, doesn't it? Of course, it is the individual who is responsible and accountable for improving their skills. But I've found it is not often seen that way. Recently, a corporate group I've been telecoaching has not been showing up for their monthly calls. There have been reasons, some valid, some not. One month they had a pressing business issue to attend to. Fine, so I suggested they give me some options for rescheduling. I didn't hear back. This month the excuse was they forgot to put it on the group calendar. Again, I told them to give me some new times/dates, and nothing. So I began to wonder, are they not getting value from our time? When we're on the call, they seem engaged and highly participatory. They say they're getting value. So what else might it be? Accountability. Or lack there of. It is easy to get inundated with one's everyday work so that you don't take the time to sharpen your ax. Even with pressing issues bearing down on you that you could use some input on, other deadlines take priority. So any "ax sharpening" activity, be it a coaching session or training, takes the back burner. I called the Vice President who sponsored this coaching program to discuss the situation. He agreed with my assessment. He was going to make them accountable to their manager to report what we discussed each month and how they were going to implement it. If someone didn't show up for the call, they needed to get permission from their manager ahead of time and notify me. So who is accountable for the implementation of new skills at your organization? If there is no accountability, I guarantee it will keep getting put off. _______________ Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC, is a bestselling author, speaker and consultant on workplace effectiveness. For more information on her services go to http://www.RebeccaMorgan.com. Send your suggested issues to cover or questions to Rebecca@RebeccaMorgan.com